Fashion designer Sue Wong creates romantic, fanciful dresses

Sue Wong wears one of her signature saris, at Mariel in Cherry Creek North.

Sue Wong doesnât design clothes, she constructs dreams. As she turns fabric, feathers and beads into alluring little cocktail dresses and gorgeous gowns, she imbues them with her motto: âbeauty, magic, transformation.â

Holding court in the salon at Mariel in Cherry Creek North late last week, where a trunk show of her latest looks was underway prior to the Flight to Luxury benefit show, Wong talked about her vision of fashion. Just like her creations, her distinctive style demands you take notice. Wearing one of her signature saris that had been refashioned into an off-shoulder top and slit skirt, her hair was slicked back, her eyebrows drawn in an expressive line. A chunky stone necklace surrounded her neck, while her hands held rings on multiple fingers and vintage cuff bracelets on each wrist were decorated with large pieces of turquoise.

Wong has long been inspired by old movies and the glamour of early Hollywood. When stars like Jean Harlow and Greta Garbo ruled the silver screen, they were costumed in satin and furs, and couture-quality gowns that fit them impeccably. That, the designer believes, is worth emulating. âI love the 1920s and â30s,â she said.

âYou should be able to put on a dress and feel transformed,â Wong noted as women donned gowns and came out of the dressing room for her approval. One customer, accompanied by her husband, tried on cocktail frocks in turquoise and lavender and was having a hard time deciding which one was prettier.

A Sue Wong gown on the runway at Flight to Luxury. (Photo by Karl Gehring/The Denver Post)

Wong says she sells to a wide age range of women âfrom prom to mom.â And then some. âI did a trunk show at Neiman Marcus and sold three gowns to an 83-year-old woman who was going on a cruise with her new husband, who was 77,â she said with a smile.

Wong said her talent, while well-honed, comes from âdivine inspirationâ rather than hard practice at her craft. âI consider myself a conduit through which the creativity flows,â she said. And sheâs prolific, noting that ideas come at her in a rush and she once designed 74 dresses in a single day.

The type of work she does, she said, âwalks a fine line between art and commerceâ and she is intent on keeping the focus on her customers, who are now in 48 countries around the world as well as the United States. She said she hears stories from friends and relatives traveling to places like the Philippines, Thailand or Hong Kong who have seen women wearing Sue Wong dresses. âAt first, I was astonished that they knew who I was,â she said.

Wong has been teaming with a young jewelry designer named Joe Vilaiawan for some of her shows, and he accompanied her to Denver. His crystal, gold and semi-precious stone jewelry, priced at $350-$850, is bold and expressive, which goes well with the designerâs dresses. âWe donât design together, but it works,â he said.

Both the jewelry and dresses are carried at Mariel, where owner Denise Snyder has stocked the designerâs special occasion and bridal wear for many years. âWhat I love is that every time you look at her collection, there is something new and fresh. You donât see the same style twice; each is unique,â Snyder said.

While creating looks for women to wear to fancy parties and special occasions, she never forgets her humble upbringing. Wong immigrated to the United States from China with her mother when she was just five years old. Her father had come over earlier.
âAs the daughter of struggling immigrants, we had no budget for toys, so I made paper dolls and designed elaborate, fantasy wardrobes for them,â she said. At 9 years old, she started making clothes for herself and never looked back.

Wong also believes in surrounding herself with beauty and lives in a historic mansion in Los Angeles that she restored and filled with treasures from her trips around the world. She often does photo shoots there and has a number of pictures of it posted on her Facebook page. Yes, she might be into old-school glamour but she has embraced 21st century social media and youâll also find her talking about her sources of inspiration, her home in Hawaii and the many personal appearances sheâs been doing on Facebook.

âA few weeks ago, I took over my Facebook page,â she said. âI had been letting my PR team do it, but when I looked at it I didnât feel it expressed my philosophy and interests, so I added that.â